New chairman McDonald promises GOP unity

The Nevada Republican Party on Sunday elected former Las Vegas City Councilman Michael McDonald as its new chairman. He vowed to unite the fractious GOP and take the party in a "new direction" during the key 2012 election year.

"The name-calling ends today," McDonald told Republicans gathered in Las Vegas to elect a new state leader. "The finger-pointing ends today. We go forward together as a united voice. We need to heal together today."

McDonald won with 182 votes from the state GOP's central committee compared with 90 ballots cast for Washoe County GOP Chairman Dave Buell, his only opponent.

In the past few years, the Nevada GOP has been rife with divisions amid a high turnover of leaders; McDonald is the fourth state chair since late 2009. Tea party factions and supporters of GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul battling the old guard have splintered the party.

The Texas congressman's backers have been slowly taking over the party by gaining leadership positions at the county level and by electing hundreds of delegates to the May 5 state convention in Sparks. The state convention will elect 28 Nevada delegates to the Republican National Convention in Tampa this August.

Half of those delegates were awarded to Mitt Romney, who won Nevada's Feb. 4 GOP presidential caucus with 50 percent of the vote and is expected to win the GOP nomination.

McDonald, who has long-standing GOP ties in Southern Nevada, won the chairman election by pulling together a broad coalition of supporters from the GOP establishment, tea party folks and Paul people. He also is seen by GOP insiders as a fresh energetic force to lead the party.

One Washoe County Buell backer said McDonald had the edge partly because he brings more "sizzle" to the job.

"It'll be an interesting ride - spirited as they say," McDonald said, flashing a smile. "We have to unite the party. This isn't about North versus South. We're going to do it with a big tent. The convention has to be a strong show of force. No one can be left out. Everyone matters."

McDonald said he'll focus on raising money for party coffers and working to elect GOP candidates at every level, from the Nevada Legislature and Congress to the U.S. Senate and the White House in this key battleground state.

"We have to take Nevada first," McDonald said in the interview, signaling he'll push the GOP drive to take back the state Senate, now controlled by Democrats, 11-10, and also to make gains in the Democratic-run Assembly .

McDonald said that under his leadership the GOP will work harder to reach out to Hispanics, a growing voting group that tends to vote Democratic. He said that as a city councilman he was one of the first candidates to win the endorsement of the Latin Chamber of Commerce.

In a formal statement, McDonald said his election means "the Republican Party of Nevada is closing the door on a bumpy past and charting a new direction forward."

"In 2010, Nevadans spoke loud and clear that they wanted a new direction in Washington, and today the Nevada Republican Party has done the same," McDonald said.

In 2010, the GOP retook control of the U.S. House, electing people such as Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev., who defeated then-Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev. But U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., also won re-election, beating Republican Sharron Angle, a tea party devotee.

In his speech to the GOP gathering, McDonald acknowledged President Barack Obama's campaign and the Democrats in Nevada are well organized in the state and the GOP must make up ground to achieve 2012 election gains.

"It's going to be an upward battle," he said, then added to a loud round of applause: "Let our movement be our voice. Let us show the rest of the United States Nevada is red."

McDonald replaces Amy Tarkanian, who resigned after the Feb. 4 GOP presidential caucus to help her husband, Danny Tarkanian, run for Congress. She served about eight months in the job, replacing Mark Amodei, who won a U.S. House seat in a special election last year in rural and Northern Nevada.

The outcome of the election seemed apparent from the time members of the central committee gathered Sunday morning at the Gold Coast, many wearing "We Like Mike" buttons.

During the candidate speeches of about three minutes each, McDonald won the loudest applause and a standing ovation from supporters, while Buell's backers were more subdued.

Although McDonald is popular in the party, the former police officer also has had to answer questions about ethics problems while in office. In 2001, the state Ethics Commission found McDonald violated rules by urging the city to enter a business deal that would have benefited his boss.

Last week, McDonald was the center of attention as he won City Council approval for an affordable housing project with $11 million in public subsidies despite objections from city staffers.

Contact reporter Laura Myers at lmyers@reviewjournal
.com or 702-387-2919. Follow @lmyerslvrj on Twitter.